Devin Haney reacts to Ryan Garcia’s ‘dad’ jibe: ‘We’ll see who stops the fight’
Haney will defend the WBC super-lightweight title against his old amateur rival on 20 April
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Your support makes all the difference.Devin Haney has vowed to make Ryan Garcia “quit” when the Americans square off on 20 April.
Haney will defend the WBC super-lightweight title against Garcia in their first professional clash but seventh overall, after the pair fought six times as amateurs; both men won three bouts each across those contests.
Ahead of their upcoming fight, 25-year-old Garcia said: “I ask you guys to pray for Devin and his health. Pray his dad stops this fight. [Devin] will be needed to be carried out if this fight doesn’t get stopped at the appropriate time.”
Haney, also 25, has now fired back, telling Dazn on Tuesday (13 February): “Henry, his dad, is gonna be there, too. So, we’ll see who stops it. I think his dad will be the one throwing in the towel and stopping the fight.
“We’ve seen Ryan quit before, and I think this won’t be anything different. I think once you have that quit in you, it’s installed in you; you know how to do it. I think he’ll quit on 20 April.”
Garcia came under criticism last April when he suffered his first professional defeat, losing to Gervonta Davis by TKO due to a body shot.
Garcia bounced back in December by stopping Oscar Duarte, a week before Haney outpointed Prograis to win the WBC super-lightweight belt and stay unbeaten. In the lead-up to that title win, Haney relinquished the undisputed lightweight belts.
“I mean, Ryan has always been a good fighter since we were kids,” Haney said on Tuesday, “but I feel like over time I’ve just grown past him, gotten a lot better, while Ryan kind of stayed the same. That’s for me to show on 20 April.
“It’s gonna be arguably the biggest fight in 2024, I think the biggest fight. It’s gonna be a mega-event. It’s gonna catapult me, it’s gonna prove that I’m the new face of boxing, I am the man, and I’m a huge draw.
“I’m a champion, Ryan Garcia is looking to become a champion – which he won’t.”
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